


Challenge accepted

by AtPK



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-24 19:54:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19180300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtPK/pseuds/AtPK
Summary: In which Gavin’s boredom and curiosity get the better of him and he ends up making a new friend.





	Challenge accepted

**Author's Note:**

> This is my answer to the 2019 convin challenge. 
> 
> This chapter is for prompts ‘first meeting’ and ‘i’ve never seen someone like you before’

Gavin sat in the reception of CyberLife Tower, trying not to yawn; he’d had very little sleep over the last few nights, which wasn’t anything new, but this time his sleeplessness was down to the case. 

It should have been a simple open and close, but the wife insisted that, even though it was her prints all over the murder weapon, it was the ‘other woman’ that had in fact killed her husband and framed her for the murder. 

The ‘other woman’ in question was a technician at CyberLife, hence his current position on one of the plush sofas, surrounded by infomercial screens extolling the virtues of the latest android models. 

He itched to put his headphones in and block out the ceaseless noise, but recognised that that would possibly look a little unprofessional for a homicide detective. 

“Detective, I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting.”

Gavin looked up at the man who offered him his hand, and he stood before taking it.

“I’m here to speak with a Miss Elizabeth Sheldon.”

“Yes, so I was informed.” The man smiled and nodded towards the receptionist. “I’m Bob Thornton, Head of Resources.”

“Nice to meet you Bob.” Although there was not a single ounce of enthusiasm in his voice.

“Well, if you’d like to come with me, I’ll show you to one of our conference rooms. Liz should already be waiting for you there.”

“Lead the way.”

Gavin followed Bob to the bank of elevators and they waited in silence for one to arrive, remaining in a silence as they began their ascent. Gavin didn’t have a problem with heights, but looking out of the glass walls as they rose higher still made him uneasy. 

He didn’t want to be here in the first place, let alone so far up the building that it wouldn’t be easy for him to leave. 

There was the sounds of raised voices from one of the floors above, and the elevator came to a stop, the doors opening into a corridor, and a couple of agitated technicians, both talking over each other.

“Robert, thank goodness you’re here! Can we have a word?”

Bob looked at the technician and then back at Gavin, and Gavin shrugged and motioned for him to go and do whatever it was a Head of Resources did. 

“I’ll be right back, Detective.”

“No rush, it’s not like I have a job to do, y’know, catching murderers.” Gavin muttered under his breath, as Bob disappeared, along with the technicians, into one of the rooms on the right. 

Gavin stood for a few long minutes in the corridor by the lift, and then bored, decided that no harm could be done by just taking a wander around, seeing what was happening. 

Ignoring the ‘authorised personnel only’ sign, he slid into one of the rooms on the left. It was white and sterile and lit by only the soft blue glow from the stasis chamber in the centre of the room.

Curious, Gavin moved closer. 

He’d seen a few of Eli’s earlier prototypes but that had been years ago, and long before ‘androids’ had gone into general circulation.

The android currently locked into the chamber was like nothing he’d seen before. It was all smooth shining white and silver, perfectly sculpted muscles, with the blue blood coursing through it, glowing softly. 

Without really thinking about what he was doing, Gavin reached out a hand and lightly touched the smooth, surprisingly warm, plate of it’s torso. 

The android opened it’s eyes and Gavin stood back quickly, shoving his hands into his pockets. It took a moment for the android’s gaze to focus but, when it did, it stared at him with large brown, human, eyes in an otherwise, featureless, inhuman face. 

“Hey, tin can,” Gavin quipped. “Welcome to the world.”

The android continued to stare at him, as if it was trying to work out what he was, but before he could say anything else, there was a call from the corridor.

“Detective Reed?”

“Shit!” 

Gavin winked at the android and then quickly rushed out of the room, trying not laugh at the horrified look on Bob’s face when he realised where Gavin had been.

“You shouldn’t have been in there, Detective. That’s a restricted area.”

“I was just taking a look, Bob. No harm done.”

Bob looked like he wanted to disagree but instead turned his back to Gavin and recalled the elevator. It wasn’t much longer before they were standing outside the, obviously empty, glass conference room.

“I’ll just go and locate Miss Sheldon.” Bob said. “Please stay here, Detective.”

Gavin nodded and looked like the thought would never even cross his mind to wander off. Bob frowned at him and then ran off to look for his missing employee.

It was another ten minutes before he reappeared, out of breath and flushed.

“Detective, I’m sorry. I have some bad news.”

“She’s gone?” Gavin guessed.

“Yes.” Bob answered, looking down at the floor.

“Great.” Gavin sighed, but at least that more or less confirmed who the guilty party was; the innocent didn’t tend to run. “Thanks for your help, Bob.”

“I’ll need to show you out now, Detective. Security, you see.”

“Right.”

And once again they were in the elevator, in silence, heading back down to reception. Gavin called in the APB on his way back to his car, thankful to be leaving CyberLife Tower behind him.

***

The APB had been active for three hours but there was still no sign of his perpetrator and so Gavin headed home, leaving instructions that he should be informed the minute any news came in.

Harley was waiting for him at the door, yowling for attention and food, Quinn just looked up at him before going back to sleep. 

Gavin picked up the cat by his feet and headed into the kitchen, rubbing his face into her fur as he opened the cupboard to pull out the cat food; she purred and head butted him a few times before scrambling to get down to the bowl. Quinn sauntered over a few moments later, deigning to let Gavin stroke his back before he turned his full attention to the food.

Gavin watched them for a while and then raided the fridge for the leftover chow mien and a cold bottle of beer. He sunk into the sofa and the tv came on, blaring out the latest headlines. 

His phone pinged and he pulled it out of his pocket.

“Hello, Detective Reed.”

Gavin didn’t recognise the number.

“Who is this?”

“RK800 #313 248 317 - 5O”

“Okay.” Gavin looked at the phone number again, trying to decide if this was Tina playing another prank on him. “How’d you get my number?”

“I now have access to the network. My technician says it should help me to learn faster.”

Something sparked in Gavin’s memory.

“Wait. You’re not that android from CyberLife Tower, are you?”

“Yes, we met earlier today.”

This was weird.

“What d’you want?”

There was no reply and Gavin was beginning to think the conversation was over when the phone pinged again.

“I’ve never seen someone like you before. My technicians all wear white lab coats and speak to me like I’m a child. You called me a tin can and pulled a funny face at me.”

“I winked at you, asshat.”

“Oh. What’s an asshat?”

Harley jumped up on his lap and pushed herself between him and the phone, he lifted the phone above her head so he could still see the screen.

“What d’you want again?”

“I just wanted to say hello and thank you. You’re the first person to welcome me to the world.”

“Okay.”

***

His phone pinged as he was slipping his badge onto his belt, and he fitted his gun into it’s holster before picking it up off the bed and looking to see who it was. Not that he didn’t already know, but more out of hope that it wouldn’t be the tin can that’d been messaging at the same time, every day, for the passed four days.

His hopes were dashed when he read the text.

“Hello, Detective Reed. It’s RK800 #313 248 317 - 5O.”

Instead of ignoring it this time, he replied.

“What d’you want, dipshit?”

“I want to wish you a good morning on this glorious day. What is a dipshit?”

“How’d you know it’s a glorious day? You been outside?”

“No, I’ve never been outside. I looked up the weather forecast and it says today is sunny, 19 degrees, with 0 chance of rain. What does the outside look like?”

Gavin wavered between answering and ignoring, but then sighed and headed over to the window, taking a quick snap of the day and sending it in reply. 

There was no response. 

Gavin shrugged and sat down on the edge of the bed to pull on his boots. His phone pinged, five times in quick succession.

“It’s so beautiful.”

“And so big.”

“And so bright.”

“And so blue.”

“Thank you, Detective Reed, for sharing this with me.”

“Whatever.”

***

“Hello, Detective Reed. It’s RK800 #313 248 317 - 5O.”

“I know who you are, you don’t need to keep saying it.”

“Oh.”

Gavin was in his car, waiting at a red light signal. He had an early team briefing meeting, which it was starting to look like he was going to be late to again today.

“And it’s not a fucking glorious day, if that’s what you were going to say.”

“Oh.”

The light changed to green and he pushed his foot down on the accelerator.

“Why isn’t it a glorious day, Detective Reed?”

Gavin was stopping at another red light.

_Fuck_!

“If you must know, tin can, there was no fucking hot water this morning so now I have to shower at the fucking precinct. I forgot I had a briefing meeting, and then had to rush, so I didn’t get my fucking coffee. And now I’m being stopped at every fucking red light in the fucking city.”

“So it isn’t that the day isn’t glorious, it’s just that you’re having a bad day?”

“What?”

The red light switched to green and he once again slammed his foot down on the accelerator. And then coasted through the rest of the lights, each one of them turning to green as he approached them.

He reached the precinct with minutes to spare, just enough time to grab a coffee before the meeting began.

“I hope you have a glorious day now, Detective Reed.”

Gavin stared at the message for a long few moments, trying to work out of it was just a coincidence, or weather the tin can has somehow managed to switch all the lights to green for him.

***

“Hello, Detective Reed.”

It was early, too early for a Saturday.

“I looked up what an asshat and a dipshit are.”

Gavin grinned.

“Yeah.”

“Yes.”

Harley jumped up on the bed and head butted him.

“They are very descriptive words.”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t really understand how a person could possible wear their ass as a hat, I’m not sure that it is anatomically possible.”

Gavin laughed, it took both Harley and himself by surprise.

“Dumbass.”

The android was silent. 

“A person who is both dumb and an ass at the same time. A person who is both embarrassing to the human race and of below average intelligence.” 

Gavin grinned again.

“All of these words are highly entertaining, Detective Reed.”

Gavin didn’t know how to respond to that.

“I also looked up fucking, and I’m not sure I understand the way in which you use the word. According to my research it is to have sexual intercourse with someone?” 

Gavin laughed again.

“It’s also a word I use when I’m angry.”

“Oh.”

“Why don’t you ask your technicians any of this shit?”

“If they knew I was learning such words, they would both question where I had heard them, and that could potentially get you into trouble, and then they would delete both the words and you from my memory banks.”

Gavin didn’t know why but that made him feel both angry and sad. 

“Too bad.”

“Yes. I think so. I have to be careful with what I let them know I know. They have terminated my predecessors for less.”

_Terminated it’s predecessors_?

“ How many?”

“I am number 50.”

Gavin sat up a little further against the pillows.

“They’ve terminated 49 previous versions of you?!”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because they were not good enough.”

“Fuck.”

“Indeed.”

It was like something out of resident evil, and Gavin suddenly got an image of 49 RK800s piled on top of each other in some kind of mass grave. It made him shiver. 

“Detective Reed, what are you going to be doing today?”

“What’s it to you?”

“I like to think about the things I’d do if I wasn’t trapped in this stasis chamber.”

Gavin didn’t know how to respond to that either. 

“I’m not gonna do much. Feed the cats, take a shower, catch up on some reports, watch some tv.”

“What are cats?”

Gavin took a photo of Harley currently perched on his chest, purring up a storm, and pinged it over. 

There was no immediate response.

“It’s very pretty.”

“Her names’s Harley, her brother’s called Quinn. Look it up.

“I will.”

“They’re rescues. Nobody wanted both of them cos Quinn’s an asshole, it took a while for me to get him to trust me, and he’s still not cuddler.”

“They sound wonderful.”

“Whatever.”

But he still felt an odd pride that someone else thought his cats were wonderful.

***

“Hello, Detective Reed.”

“Hi.”

“Hello.”

Gavin sat back in his chair.

“I have been given a name.”

“That something new?”

“Yes. They never named my predecessors. I think it’s a sign that I might be good enough.”

“What’s your name then?”

“Connor.”

“Gavin.”

“Hello, Gavin.”

“Hey, Connor.”

***

There was no message the next morning, or the next, or the one after, and Gavin started to think that maybe the tin can hadn’t been good enough after all. 

On the forth day, his phone pinged.

“Hello, Gavin. How are you today?”

“Where’ve you been? I thought they’d terminated you, or something?”

“No, I am fine. I have been undergoing some extensive testing and training. It has been difficult, but I am ready for my assignment.”

“What assignment?”

“I am to join the Detroit Police Department as a prototype detective to assist with the deviant cases.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Are you angry, Gavin?”

“What? No. I’m surprised.”

“Oh. I was surprised too. We will be working in the same building together. It’ll be nice to see you again.”

Gavin stared at his phone.

“No one can know that we know each other though, Gavin, otherwise, they will recall me.”

“And terminate you?”

“Yes.”

“This is fucking weird.”

“Yes.”

***

Gavin strolled out of the break room, coffee in hand, and stopped in his tracks. There was an android standing in the bullpen, wearing a pristine CyberLife uniform, LED cycling blue on it’s forehead. Gavin recognised it’s brown eyes from that day back in CyberLife Tower, and couldn’t stop himself from staring.

His phone pinged, breaking him out of his brain freeze and he made his way back over to his desk, throwing himself down into his chair and putting his feet up on the desk, before pulling his phone out of his pocket and opening up his messages.

“You shouldn’t be staring, Gavin.”

The android had it’s back to him now.

“Well, I’m sorry, but I’ve never actually seen you with skin on before.” 

“Oh. And what do you think of my visual appearance?”

“What? It’s fine, I guess.”

“Thank you. I think. Do you know where Lieutenant Hank Anderson is?”

Gavin huffed a laugh.

“You’ll be lucky if you see him after midday.”

“Why is that?”

“He’s likely having a liquid lunch. Look it up.”

“I will. I also looked up Harley and Quinn and I like their names very much. Although their character namesake does seem quite troubled.”

“Batshit crazy, is the word you’re probably looking for there.”

“Yes. I have looked up a liquid lunch. Do you mean to say that Lieutenant Anderson is drinking alcohol at his time?”

“I never said any such thing, but you might find him in a bar nearby.”

“I see.”

“Good luck.”

Connor didn’t even glance in his direction as he left the precinct in, what he assumed was, search of Hank. He settled back down to finalise his report on the scorned mistress, who’d eventually been apprehended trying to leave Detroit on a greyhound headed for Chicago. She’d confessed quite readily to the murder after all the evidence had been stacked up in front of her. 

***

Gavin was still at his desk later that evening when the android responsible for the murder of Carlos Ortiz was hauled in for interrogation. Hank glanced at him and nodded towards the observation room, and as Gavin had been involved in observing a few of the other deviant interviews, he didn’t put up a fuss. 

Chris was already setting up the recording equipment, and Gavin patted his shoulder in welcome as he made his way to the far wall and leaned against it. It was only then that he spotted Connor standing in the shadows at the back of the room. 

They stared at each other for a few long moments, and then both looked away.

Hank was in the interview room failing disastrously to get the android to so much as look at him, let alone answer his questions, and the longer the interview went on, the more frustrated Gavin became. 

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he quickly glanced at Connor, before pulling it out.

“I’ve been thinking, Gavin, that it might act in a our favour if you pretend that you don’t like me.”

“I don’t like you.”

He caught the quick smile that flittered over Connor’s lips and ignored the skip of his own heartbeat.

Hank shoved his way back into the room and threw himself down in the seat in front of the two way mirror. A quick discussion followed in which it was decided that Connor would attempt to interrogate the deviant and in which Gavin found out that androids didn’t actually feel physical pain. He made a note to ask Connor later if they were able to feel emotional pain.

Gavin, and Hank, watched as Connor interviewed the deviant, and Gavin had to admit that he was quite impressed with the android’s skill; he would have just gone in and threatened the dumbass thing with termination, or roughed it up, as he’d previously suggested. A little fear and intimidation went a long way to getting most of his perpetrators to confess. 

It was getting late, he was beyond tired, and when Connor eventually got a confession, he moved quickly, along with Chris, to get the android back to its cell.

Connor exchanged a significant look with him when he entered the room, and Gavin frowned at him, only then remembering what Connor had said about Gavin acting like he didn’t like Connor. 

_Fine_ .

Gavin could certainly play that game. 

***

“Was it really necessary for you to pull your gun on me, Gavin?”

“You said to act like I don’t like you, I don’t think anyone’s gonna question that now, are they?”

“No.”

Gavin was pulling on his jacket. Connor was loitering around Hank’s desk.

“I could almost believe that you really don’t like androids though.”

Gavin paused, not knowing what to say, before shoving his phone back into his pocket and heading for the exit.

That would be a discussion for another day.

***

The next morning, Gavin still felt a bit shitty for pulling his gun on Connor, and so went in search of his cats. He found them cuddling each other, asleep, in one of their custom cat beds. He clicked a quick photo and pinged it off, instantly feeling a little better.

“Thank you for the lovely photo of your cats, Gavin. It is such a nice image to start the day.” 

Connor’s reply was almost instant.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll see you at the precinct.”

“Yeah.”

***

Tina looked tired and angry, and she didn’t even look up as she stormed through the bullpen and into the break room. 

Gavin watched her and hesitated only a little, before getting up from his desk and following her.

“Bad night?”

Tina just glared, not at him, per se, but at everything. He went to the coffee machine, filled two cups and placed one on the table in front of her, leaning against the other side.

“You wanna talk about it?”

She looked at him.

“I pulled over this guy for exceeding the speed limit, right?” Gavin nodded. “And he was full of excuses about his kid being sick and needing to get her home, right?” Gavin nodded again. “And then the kid puked on me.”

“Is that what that smell is?”

“Fuck off, Gavin!”

But she still ducked her head to smell her uniform.

“I remember those good old days,” he said wistfully. “At least it was a drunk.”

They both pulled a face.

Tina sighed and then reached for her coffee: “I hear we have a new — addition to the team? Chris told me you’re already making friends.”

“You know me, Ti, always the first to roll out the red carpet.”

“You pulled your gun.”

At that moment, Connor stepped into the break room, and Tina exchanged a look with him. 

“Is that him?” She mouthed.

Gavin nodded.

It was still so new for him to see Connor in the flesh, as it were, and, once again, for a moment only, all he could do was stare. Tina frowned at him, her gaze quickly shooting from him to Connor and back to him again.

_Why’d she always have to see everything_?

If he was going to keep up the pretence that he didn’t know, or like, Connor, then he’d have to do something fast, before she started to ask questions. 

***

He’d been back at his desk for no more than sixty seconds, when his phone pinged.

“Gavin, if I didn’t know you already, I’d think you were a highly unpleasant individual.”

Ouch - that hurt like a jab in ribs. 

He’d obviously upset Connor with his display in the break room.

“I am a highly unpleasant individual, just ask anyone in the precinct.”

“Would a highly unpleasant individual send me photos of their cats cuddling?”

Connor had him there. 

“I left your coffee on the table. It’s getting cold.”

“Thanks.”

Gavin glanced at Connor as he strode back through the bullpen, noticing Connor’s LED cycling between yellow and red.

Yep, Gavin’d really pissed him off.

“Oh, and Gavin, if your next request for coffee isn’t polite, I’ll pour it over your head. Got it?”

“Got it.”

***

They didn’t exchange a single message or glance the rest of the day, and Gavin was beginning to think the android had finally given up on him, when his phone pinged.

“I want to talk about what happened earlier today.”

“I thought we’d already covered the part where I’m an asshole.”

“We have.”

Ouch - that felt like another jab in the ribs.

“I want to talk about what you said — about androids.”

“Yeah?”

Connor was silent for a long few heartbeats.

“Did you mean what you said? About androids taking human jobs?”

“Androids are taking human jobs.”

“Perhaps that is true. I do not know. But I am not going to take yours. I couldn’t. I am an assist. My purpose is to assist detectives in their roles. My purpose is not to be a detective.”

“For now.”

“I do not know what the future holds, Gavin. I just know what is happening now.”

Gavin didn’t reply.

“I do not want to argue, Gavin.”

“Ditto.”

“Then we can put this behind us?”

Gavin let out the breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding.

“Okay.”

“Good, because I’m having enough trouble right now with Lieutenant Anderson’s challenging behaviour.”

And, it seemed, Connor had already moved passed it, so Gavin followed suit. 

“He giving you a hard time?”

“He does not tip toe around his dislike for androids. He grabbed me by my jacket and shoved me against a wall today when I tried to talk to him about it.”

“Too bad.”

“Yes. And he was also upset that I left him in order to pursue a deviant, even though there was a very low probability that he would have sustained any injury if he fell off the building.”

Gavin read the text a few times before answering. 

“Wait. Did you leave him hanging off a building to chase after a deviant?”

“Yes. But as I said there was a very low probability that he would have been injured if he fell. I do not think there was any need for him to punch me.”

Gavin burst into laughter, startling the woman walking passed his car.

“Did you catch the deviant at least?”

“No. It jumped off the building. Amanda will not be happy.”

“Who’s Amanda?”

“Oh. She’s my — I don’t know how to explain it — I report to her on my progress and she gives me orders.”

“Like a handler?”

“I guess.”

That was news to Gavin, he hadn’t even thought about Connor having a handler; but then, considering what a expensive piece of kit Connor was, CyberLife would have been mad to let him just walk around without supervision.

“Look, Connor, I’ve got to go. I’m at a crime scene.”

“Okay. Have a good evening, Gavin.”

“You too.”

Gavin got out of his car and headed into the Eden club.

***

“We really need to stop meeting like this, Gavin.”

Gavin didn’t want to laugh, but his lips twitched in amusement despite his wishes.

“You stole my fucking crime scene, asshat.”

“Why did you bump your shoulder with mine? Is it because you wanted to touch me?”

Now Gavin did huff an incredulous laugh.

“Yeah, that’s it, you got me. It’s because you’re just so fucking irresistible.”

“Why, thank you, Gavin.”

Gavin thought for a moment before asking his next question.

“How come you act so human?”

Connor replied after a pause.

“My social interaction protocols are extremely advanced. I am programmed to adapt to any situation, and to ‘fit in’ to any team.”

“Right. I’m going to try and sleep now.”

“Good night, Gavin. Sleep well.”


End file.
